Lex Talionis
by Icarus.falling.85
Summary: Lex Talionis is the law of retaliation. In which, the perceived offender will be punished as severely as their perceived crimes. Retribution must be had. However, as the old saying goes eye for an eye and we'll all go blind. Or judge not unless thee be judged. An AU take on the last few seasons.
1. Chapter 1

Liz's throat hurt from screaming. Screaming loudly in hopes her tormented cries were enough. Red had to confess the truth. She needed the truth more than she needed to live and more than her relationship with anyone else mattered. All Liz had left was the search for the truth that got Tom killed. While she still had her daughter and her friends, neither seemed to measure up to her desperate need for answers. Grief was a dangerous beast. While many had the stages of grief, for Liz grief became anger. An anger that burned deep inside and could not be tamed. The unfairness of Tom's death and all that had to happen in her life fueled the anger. Anger ruled her every action, masking itself in pursuit of answers. Anger always needs a place of blame.

It was impossible to trace the exact moment her anger turned to Reddington. Likely around Tom's death. Or was it when Ian Garvey died, leaving the beast inside of her to shift from the man who had killed Tom, to the man who had been responsible for why Tom died. Maybe she hated Red from the start, and she just had not been willing to admit it because he was her father after all. Whoever he was, he was not Raymond Reddington, and the beast had to be fed. It demanded blood for blood. It was the truth or Red's blood, all her anger would accept.

Before Liz could scream again, a henchman rushed into the back door, "We need to move. Your people have found us."

Jennifer Reddington nervous as she was starting her foray into playing on the same level as Raymond Reddington asked, "Do we take him with?"

Despite the woman's nerves, Liz was amazed at how easily this was all coming to Jennifer. Liz could barely remember when she first meant Reddington, and the first few times she went up against in a game of wits. But she remembered the nerves and the amount of strength it took. Jennifer had barely batted an eye when Liz outlined her plan to get Red to confess the truth.

"Yes." Liz said, "You need to go. We will be in contact once we have _him_ somewhere else." The word him spoke with venom.

Turning to Ross's man, "Go get Sutton and let him know we need to move now." They had been so close to getting Reddington to telling the truth. So close. How did they track them this fast? It had all worked so well. Liz watched Jennifer walk out the back door, part of her wondered if they should leave Jennifer out of this. She was still innocent. Everything the man she knew as Raymond touched went to hell. He made everyone's life worse for being in it. Could Jennifer be spared this fate? Or had Red's gravitational pull already dragged them into the path of oncoming danger and death.

Ross walked into the room, closing the door so Reddington would not hear their conversation or see anything. "What is wrong?"

"The FBI is on the way." Liz said already forming their next moves in her mind.

"We leave now." Ross said, "And continue at another location."

"The FBI will not give up looking for me." Liz spoke, "If you leave me behind, I can inform you of the movements of the team, including his people."

"But it will be harder to get him to talk. He is about ready to crack. Just a bit longer."

"I know." Liz said despising the fact that she knew it would take more time than they had to break Red this way, "But he will crack eventually." Everyone did after all. But they needed the FBI off their back so that they would have the time to break him.

The beast needed to see Red suffer, for all the pain he had brought to her life. The old Liz would be terrified at the emotions she felt, the desire for blood and vengeance. But she had long ago left behind the woman she had once been, the one that would have wilted at the idea of causing someone to suffer. That Liz would never have been willing to torture someone emotionally or physically. This Liz was looking forward to it.

"Where do we move to?" Ross had little connections left in the States after faking his death. He used what he could to secure the current location.

"I know a warehouse that will work." Lizzie said thinking it was fitting that they return to the place where she had saved Reddington from almost certain death. "Now you need to knock me out."

"What?" Ross said worried about who he was working with. This woman was crazier than Reddington and he feared her more than he feared wrath from Reddington.

"He needs to believe your men have been hurting me, and my people need to believe there was a legitimate reason you left me behind."

Ross nodded. One of his henchmen slammed his fist into Liz's temple, knocking her unconscious. "Secure her. And get the van." Ross ordered watching his men drag his new partner towards a pipe to cuff her. Ross wondering the entire time if this was going to work, what had he agreed to get himself into this time. He could just kill the imposter Reddington. Wash his hands of it all, and return to his life.

While he was intrigued as to who this imposter was, and why he would take on someone like Raymond Reddington's identity, was the answer worth dying for? At the Post Office, he had agreed because it was his only way out alive. There was hope that if got the answers he could use them to his advantage. He could take over Reddington's empire, and return to what he once had been.

"Bag him and get him ready for transport." Sutton said making up his mind to see things through a bit longer. He could always kill them later and the agent if needed. He had enough men on his side.

"Where is Elizabeth?" Red asked looking at the door that stood between him knowing Lizzie's condition. He was worried at Sutton's man's sudden appearance and then Sutton disappearing into the room. Had they pushed it too far? Should he have given the information up sooner? Was Lizzie ok? Alive? Seriously injured?

"In the other room. We are leaving."

"Sutton you used to be smarter than this. Did faking your death make you dumber?" Red spoke a twinkle in his eye as if he entertained, but in reality, he was terrified for Lizzie. He would not recover from her dying because of him again. "You know the FBI will keep looking for her. Until they find her. They will keep coming. They will not waste resources on me, not if they are sure you'll kill me in the end. But, right now you are fighting two fronts. Between my people trying to find me and the FBI finding her. You will not win. Leave her behind and simplify the battle. Hope that my people end up being too incompetent to find me."

"We could just end it all now." Sutton smiled pulling a gun and aiming it at Reddington's head.

"You and I both know you are not going to kill me." Red answered not at all cowered by the weapon aimed at his head. Sutton wanted something, more than the truth, he was letting greed motivate him, and Red knew it. Red was saving this information for when and if he got truly desperate. If he could get Lizzie to safety, then he would never need it. Sutton could do what he wished to Red, and Red would be ok with it as long as Lizzie was safe.

========B=======

Leading the way into the warehouse, Dembe kept his gun aimed in front while he scanned the room for signs of Raymond and Elizabeth. The room was empty except for a chair. At the feet of the chair was a pair of plastic zip ties, likely utilized to secure someone to the chair. There was no sign of Raymond. Dembe was also comforted that there was no sign of blood. If Ross killed Raymond, it was not here.

Continuing through the warehouse, while the FBI team cleared the main room. Dembe went for the room across from the chair. The door was closed and locked. Taking a step back, Dembe put all his weight into kicking the door. Splintering the frame as it burst open, Dembe rushed into the room, searching the corners as he moved inside. On the floor, cuffed to a pipe, was an unconscious form. Moving towards the body, he gently checked the pulse, noting it was Lizzie. She was alive, a bit banged up from what he could see, but alive.

Lizzie's eyes fluttered open with a groan as she felt warm fingers on her neck.

"Was Raymond here with you?" Dembe asked studying Lizzie for signs of concussion or distress.

"Yes." Liz said, "I think they took him. I heard them talking about disposing of him."

"Did you hear anything else?"

"No. Ross was trying to use me to get Red to tell him something." Liz responded closing her eyes against a wave of dizziness.

Ressler came into the room seeing the bruises and cuts on Liz's face, "Jesus. Are you ok?"

"Yeah." Lizzie said, "Just a bit sore."

"Let I get those off you." Ressler said using his handcuff key to unlock the cuffs from Liz's wrist.

With Ressler's help, Liz slowly sat up, rubbing her sore wrist.

Dembe was outside the room on a phone. "They took him. We need to search the video feeds leaving here, and also for how Ross might be leaving. Check planes, boats, and the usual." Dembe knew it was a long shot, but it was one he was willing to take if it meant finding Raymond.

"You should get check out by medical before we debrief." Ressler said helping Lizzie to her feet. She was a bit unsteady and wondered if she had a concussion.

"How is Samar?"

"We do not know." Ressler said keeping an eye on Liz as he walked her out to the waiting ambulance. "No change I think."

"How did you find us?"

"We tracked the van that brought Reddington here." Ressler said, "Ross almost got away. He did a nice parlor trick with three white vans leaving the same place, all possibly having Reddington in them."

Ressler kept speaking, "But Dembe noticed the first van, and figured out that was the one with Red. Aram was able to track it with the various traffic and CTV cameras."


	2. Chapter 2

"How are we going to handle this?" Ross had his own plan of going medieval on Reddington to get the answers they all wanted but knowing his partner had all the power. It was not a partnership, Ross knew that Elizabeth may not have realized it yet. She knew Reddington better. She had spent years studying the man, as a profiler, she would know how to break him.

"We start with enhanced interrogation techniques. Start simple. Small spaces, loud noises, sleep deprivation, and temperature changes. We will need portable heaters and an air conditioner or some way to change the temperature." Liz had been thinking about this while she was debriefing with Cooper and Ressler. Everyone thought she was at home resting and most of the team was busy looking for Reddington. Dembe promised to update her if they got a location on Reddington, and she trusted he would call before acting. Dembe was trustworthy, unlikely his colleague.

"Where's Reddington now?" Liz asked wanting to make sure he would not hear her. She had another plan, but it hinged on Reddington believing she was not part of this.

"Upstairs."

"We need to ensure where we put him is secure," Liz said wondering how long this place would remain safe for their nefarious plans. "He has a knack for escaping."

"We are working on that." Ross said, "Bolts, chains, and other supplies are all being bought all around town and in a few other nearby towns to ensure it will not be suspicious."

"We have to make sure he does not know I'm part of this," Liz said seeing the doubt in Ross's eyes, he doubted her intentions, "I have another plan. If we cannot get him to talk, I have another way. But he has to think we will go through with it, and if he knows I'm part of this he will not believe it."

"What is the other plan?" Ross said wondering if it was guaranteed to get Reddington to talk, why were they not using it? Keeping him like this was increased in risk each second it went on. Reddington's people were good at finding people.

Liz responded, "I do not want to use it unless we have to. He will break, we just need to apply the right pressure."

* * *

Red's muscles ached and quivered from the strain. They pushed him into a room, the hood still secured over his head. Forced to him to kneel, his hands were cuffed behind his back and pulled down past his feet. It forced him to kneel in a 45-degree angle. His legs secured in place by something, immobilizing him in this uncomfortable position. The rope around his neck insured he would maintain the position or strangle him.

Whatever Ross had planned; Red knew his death would not come quickly. Ross wanted answers, but what Ross did not know was he gave up his only chance at getting the answers to the questions he wanted. Red was ready to give up when he heard Lizzie getting hurt. His secret was not worth her life, but his secret was worth his own life. If Dembe kept Lizzie safe, the secret would die with him.

It might be easier too, death. He would not have to confront Lizzie and see the pain and betrayal in her eyes. What Dembe did not understand about the situations was telling Lizzie the truth, at any moment in their history, would only have confirmed her opinions of him. He was addicted to her, needing his regular dose of her light. Being close to her, knowing she was ok, and getting to interact with her often reminded him of why he became this monster. She simply made all of the sacrifices worth it, and most of all she made life still worth living. Telling Lizzie the truth about their shared past, who he was, it would be the end of his relationship with her. He'd lose his fix, his way home, access to the only decent thing left from his previous life. He could not live in a world without her. Telling her the truth would be the same as putting a bullet in his head. Lizzie and Cooper always reminded him how selfish he was after all.

He should have corrected her when she came to him claiming he lied about not being her father. The DNA test, wherever it came from, was wrong. But at that moment, after losing Kaplan in the way he had, all of the strife from the battle with Kaplan, and Lizzie's faked death, all of it just made it seem easier to accept. Lizzie had hugged him. Accepted him, as is, in those few seconds. It felt right. He knew then he did not deserve her acceptance, but he had craved it, desired it for so long that he allowed himself to let it happen. He gave in to his weakness, his need for Lizzie to see him for more than just a wanted criminal.

The sound of a drill filled the room with a high-pitched squeal. Securing the room better? Whoever was drilling and banging did not talk. The noise only intensified the headache he had since the crash. To block out the pain, and to pass the time, he had tried to engage them in conversation a few times but got no response.

Red startled at the sound of a loud metal bang from what sounded like a few inches away from him.

"Move him in there." Ross's voice filtered into the room. "And use these."

Red could not see what these were, but he felt hands, first undoing the rope around his neck and next whatever held his legs in place. He was dragged, someone kicking his legs out from under him when he tried to stand.

They slammed him into something hard knocking the wind out of him. Someone grabbed his legs. What Red could not see as they were forcing him feet first into a small enclosure.

The small enclosure was a kennel for a large dog that had metal sheets welded around it to make it more secure. No light would leak in. Outside, there was a small vent that had been welded to cover a hole cut into the metal sheeting. This vent would be utilized to control the temperature and level of humidity inside what amounted to a small metal box. Both a portable air conditioner and heater that was equipped to work as a humidifier as well, had been rigged to push air into the vent, thereby, allowing for heat or cold air to be introduced into the small metal box.

Inside, Red realized he was in some sort of small space. He could feel the walls against his arms, the ceiling was so low that in a kneeling position was forced to sit on the back of his legs. His head was forced down because the ceiling was so low he would not be able to be in a seated kneeling position. The length was just enough to allow him to rest his head at a weird angle against the cold metal floor. He felt the metal netting against his face.

To finish, a pair of headphones was tapped to his head. The tape sticking to the hood over his head. A very loud screeching noise mixed with a high-pitched sound played over the headphones. He no longer heard the drills or anything else. Deducing the headphones were noise cancelling. This was not going to help his headache, Red mused.

He felt like air was flowing into the box at his ankles. Inside the box, it was already hot and getting worse. In his full 3-piece suit, he began to sweat within minutes. In what felt like a short amount of time, the inside felt like a hot humid day in a rainforest. Red was quickly getting drenched in his own sweat. It was already difficult to breath in the position he was in, but the hot air seemed to intensify. He was not claustrophobic, but the walls were literally closed in on him. Red felt agitated by this space. It was a trick, he knew. Make the suspect uncomfortable, enclosed spaces, hot temperatures, sense deprivation, all of these were techniques to break someone. Well Sutton was in for a surprise, Red had survived these conditions and worse many times before. Each time, all he had to do was wait. He had faith his people would find him eventually, or the opportunity to escape would appear. The trick was keeping himself ready to take it.

"He is all secured if you would like to see his accommodations." Ross said to Lizzie and Jennifer who were casually talking on the main floor of the building. Jennifer had joined them at the warehouse as soon as they were sure no one was following her.

Both women followed Ross into the room, knowing they could continue to talk, as Reddington's hearing would have been cut off with the noise-canceling headphones.

"Wow." Jennifer said studying the small metal box, "He fits inside there."

"Yes." Ross said, "Doubt its comfortable."

"We should let him sweat it out for a bit." Lizzie said, "And then have your men pull him out and start with waterboarding." Lizzie said, "It is important that you do not let him sleep."

"I doubt he can."

"Just make sure the noises change on the headphones." Liz said, "You also have the recording of me screaming in pain, right?"

"Yes."

"Make sure to mix that in." Liz said.

"After the waterboarding, make sure he returns to a cold crate," Jennifer added, the darkness having overtaken her after Garvey's death. She wanted whoever the man in the crate was to suffer. Ultimately, it did not matter if she found out the truth. Both her parents were dead because of this man, and now he would pay for it. The punishment should fit the crime.

"Besides the crate, we also have multiple locks on the only entrance to the room. We also were able to secure a piece of metal sheeting over the windows. There is only one way in the room, and one way out."

"Good." Liz said, "Now we just have to make sure Reddington's people cannot find us and we need to start scouting for alternate locations for when they do find us."


End file.
